By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
World No. 1 Poland toppled the Netherlands, 22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-22, to come out on top of its group while United States knocked Cuba out of contention with a 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 27-25, in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship on Wednesday, Sept. 17 in separate venues.
Team captain Bartosz Kurek and Tomasz Fornal sizzled for 19 and 15 points including combined 26 kills as Poland completed a three-game sweep of its Pool B elims.
Topping it all, Poland triumphed in all three games without dropping a set.
That earned Poland a knockout Round of 16 match against Canada, which finished second Pool G in with a 2-1 win-loss record despite bowing to Turkey, 25-21, 25-16, 25-27.
Turkey, which also finished the stage unbeaten in three games, set up a knockout date with the the Netherlands, which finished second in Pool B with a 2-1 card.
Meanwhile, Cooper Robinson and Gabriel Garcia fired 14 and 12 points for the United States, which also made its title aspirations felt by finishing atop the Pool D leaderboard with a pristine 3-0 mark.
Joining the Americans into the next round is Portugal, which claimed the No. 2 slot in their pool after a tough 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-11 victory over Colombia.
The United States is set to clash with the second seed from Pool E, while Portugal battles Pool E top seed Bulgaria, which also finished undefeated in three games after routing Chile, 25-17, 25-12, 25-12.
